Dolter was best known for her portraits of maturing women. (CBC)

Newfoundland and Labrador lost an important member of the arts community on Tuesday.

Tina Dolter is best known for her portraits — particularly her ten-year painting project titled The Sensuality of the Maturing Woman, a series of portraits and biographies of women over 40.

Dolter was a 2011 nominee for both the Arts Council Artist of the Year award and the Large Year Award for Excellence in Visual Arts.

This past spring, she had been commissioned by a New York gallery to do a series of paintings with Leonard Cohen as her intended first subject.

Colleague and friend David Smallwood said the artistic community will miss not just Dolter’s talent as an artist, but also her drive and ability to organize people.

“She was such an integral force in motivating people to get things done and we'll miss that force,” said Smallwood. “There's nobody quite like Tina when it comes to getting things done.”

Dolter was originally from Montreal, but called Corner Brook home for the past 37 years.

She passed away at the Health Sciences Centre from complications with pneumonia.